Now we’re down to seven groups and they lead off with a Halloween medley which must’ve felt weird when they recorded it weeks ago… sounded good though… the judges seemed to get a kick out of it… tonight they’re tasked with superstar medleys, which is three songs from a superstar mashed up into one… should be interesting… off we go…

now playing: Singing in the Rain/Umbrella by Glee

Urban Method chooses Rhianna as their superstar… i like Umbrella, but i’m pretty tapped out on her catalog at that point… this is a longer performance than i expected, and the medley portion was much more distinct than i had hoped… they are trying to prove that they are more than a rap group, and it comes through fine, but they have lost a little of their identity with it… it was pretty good, but nothing spectacular… Sara says she loved the last song and they should be more confident… Shawn liked that they showed the potential of the girls and compared them all to candies that needed to be unwrapped… or un-rap-ped… Ben thought it started off well, fell apart in the middle, then came back together in the end and overall it was great…

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eight groups left and it’s hip hop night… which is interesting and obviously tips the scales in Urban Method’s favor… they open with a B.O.B. song, Nothin’ on You that i’m not completely familiar with, but it sounds pretty good… probably better than the original… not sure how many are going home tonight, but i’d have to guess we’ll see two more go home… wait, did he just imply that Boys II Men is 20 years old?… yikes… okay, so, two sets of four and then a sing off battle to eliminate one group… sassy… off we go…

now playing: Whatcha Say by Solo

The Dartmouth Aires take on Flo Rida’s Club Can’t Handle Me… i think one of the groups did a Flo Rida song in the first season… well, this is definitely not in their comfort zone… they’ve donned some sterotypically ghetto fabulous outfits, but they don’t seem quite as comfortable as they normally are on stage… the hook is working pretty well, but the leads are struggling a bit… it was alright, but could’ve been better… Sara said it had swagger because they started out chaotic and rushed, but they settled in eventually and it was fun to watch… Shawn shouts out to hip hop and then tells them they put their style on it and he would hang out with them… good job… Ben says it was a little disjointed, calling it polka hip hop but lots of fun…
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Ten, count them ten groups converge on the stage as we dive into the mix with a supergroup performance of All Night Long… party… fiesta… forever… guilty pleasures night and lots of groups… so, not much time to chit chat… off we go…

now playing: Dynamite by The Yellow Jackets

The Yellow Hoodies, i mean Jackets start things off on the right note, picking a Spice Girl tune for their guilty pleasure… and they are definitely having fun and making it their own… quite a performance and no problems with the vocals… Sara says it was a ton of fun… some tuning issues, but she would watch it again… Shawn says it’s burned into his retina and all of it was good, even though some of the harmonies were a little off, so far so good… Ben says it was really entertaining and a smart arrangement… it was a starburst of energy…
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As a long time fan of hip hop, I’ve been able to witness first hand the marriage of faith and hip hop from the early days. And by early, I mean when Stephen Wiley was “Rappin for Jesus” to the be-be-beat, Michael Peace was “R-R-Rockin’ it Right,” and SFC was telling us to “Listen Up.” Yeah, the days of cassette tapes and cardboard. When Christian rap, Holy Hip Hop, or whatever you want to call it (Call It What You Want?) didn’t have it’s own section in the Christian book stores because there wasn’t much of it and they didn’t know what to do with it.

And when I “broke” into the industry of writing about CCM, it was largely because of my personal history and love of hip hop – a CCM subgenre which seems to always be “on the rise.” By providing credible coverage through popular media outlets, I like to think I helped give a mainstream voice to the marginalized subculture, though I recognize I was never more than a small cog in the large mechanism that is the CCM industry.

I’ve seen a lot of ups and downs – more than speedboats – through the years. Seen artists get shine and stained, but despite all I’ve seen, I still get pretty excited and, moved, when I see a good thing happen in the industry. [continue reading this post...]

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now it’s time for the other six to perform two songs each – one current radio hit and one from the 60s but first, a supergroup rendition of Rhythm of Love by Plain White Tees on a stage that’s been transformed into a field full of artificial flowers and sunshine…

now playing: Sing by The Sing Off Contestants

Whew… i finished my Lucky Charms just in time to catch The Deltones open the night with Edge of Glory by Lady Gaga… i typically only like Lady Gaga songs when they’re mixed down and rearranged as a capella tracks a la Glee’s Gaga episode… this one’s pretty nice, but it’s clearly a strain for the lead vocalist… too bad… it’s a soft opening to the competition tonight for me… Shaun says it was really solid… Sara says they were a little static physically… Ben says it was a really solid performance…
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six of the remaining twelve groups perform tonight and they lead off with Somewhere Only We Know, which i’ve always found to be a haunting and enchanting melody… they did a solid job as they pretty much always do as a giant group… tonight they’ll sing two songs each – one current radio hit and one from the 60s… always fun… i might not type as much because i’m eating popcorn and my fingers are greasy…

now playing: Motownphilly by Boys II Men

Vocal Point kicks it all off with Never Say Never without their bass vocalist, sadly… they went with the green jackets and ties this week and they’re doing a great job… i’m honestly not familiar with the original version of this tune, but this version sounds pretty good… they’re a very cohesive group… Ben says that he enjoyed it, it was fun, and they sang the hell out of it, which is a lot to unpack, knowing they’re Mormons… Sara says they’re like wholesome Thundercats and despite some rough spots, it was really good… Shawn makes fun of them for singing Bieber, but tells them it was a really good performance…

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And this week we meet the rest of the contestants eight more groups square off to boot off the bottom two and leave us with twelve… before the cutthroat ruthlessness begins though, they’re all joining together as one to bring us a fresh new version of Sing by My Chemical Romance… Nick Lachey introduces the judges and they justify why they boot off who they boot off… and with all these “offs” in the opening paragraph… i’ll end it with… off we go…

now playing: Motownphilly by Boys II Men

the Dartmouth Aires lead off with a Stevie Wonder/Red Hot Chili Peppers jam, Higher Ground… i wonder if you have to special order shirts that bright… i like the background vocals a lot, but the lead singer shouts more than sings and it just made my dog start singing along in his sleep… Shawn says this is what he’s talking about… he was tapping along the whole time… Sara says they were spot on and they had her from hello… Ben says it was nice work, but the background was a little too loud, making Michael (the lead) work too hard to be heard (a.k.a. shout)… he liked it though…

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Thirty five years ago, The Muppet Show debuted and kicked things off with a sketch I’m sure made little sense to most viewers. And for years, I’ve just assumed it was a catchy tune with some silly puppets that was designed purely for light-hearted entertainment value. But, the other day (perhaps due to having a high fever or being overtired) a light came on and I realized this silly little video is a perfect illustration of the struggles associated with innovation.

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Awwwwww yeeeeeeah… now it starts to get interesting… the final showdown… two singers left and it’s CAGE MATCH STYLE…. okay, it’s not cage match time, but it is the final competitive hoe-down… i mean showdown… and, like most of you, i’m so ready for it to be over… it’s been an interesting season and i’m so glad that the final two are in it to win it… Scotty vs. Lauren… and they’re already handicapping Lauren by saying she blew out her vocal chord… but the doctor of death says she’ll be fine…

now playing: Previously by Brad Paisley

three rounds one they’ve sung before, one that’s been picked by their personal idol (George Strait and Carrie Underwood)… and one that’s bound to be awful because it will be their first single… no time for jibba jabba… off we go…

Scotty… singing Gone… and it’s really deep and the sound is not so good in the Nokia Theater… oh, it’s this song… this was his favorite, really?… it’s a good pace and tempo for him and it’s certainly country enough… it shows off his range pretty well… yeah, that was a good choice… and i guess the producers also understand that the judges have nothing to say that’s worth hearing so we just skip that part…

Lauren… singing Flat on the Floor bathed in red lights and the fiddler is getting a work out tonight… she emerges from the staircase and you can kind of tell that she’s afraid to really push her vocal, but it still sounds good a worthy response to Scotty’s opening challenge… again, no need to even acknowledge the judges… we gotta keep the show rolling…

now playing: A Little Bit Stronger by Sara Evans

this really feels rushed… i can’t even believe they’ve managed to change their outfits… diving right back in…

Scotty… George Strait picked Check Yes or No… and he’s squatting behind a guitar that accentuates how skinny he is… this is a good song for him and i think it’s pointing out how young he is… it’s slower than his opener, but not in a bad way… still a good song… still no judges…

Lauren… Carrie Underwood picked Maybe It Was Memphis… and Lauren’s chosen another princess dress with what appears to be a giant antique key dangling off of her neck… the key to her heart maybe? cute… anyway, this is a low key song that i’ve never heard before, but it seems to work fine… you know, to be honest, it really doesn’t matter how they sing at this point… this show is just a formality… everyone is just waiting for voting to start… oh… now we’re going to talk to the judges…

Randy says America did a fine job picking these two… and it’s so hard to decide… but Scotty was just brilliant with the first song and really good with the second song… but Lauren did awesome with both songs… so round one to Scotty, round two to Lauren…J-Lo says Scotty started off well, Lauren attacked well… what Randy said… Steven goes with the pretty vote, giving both rounds to Lauren… Randy is not willing to make it through a show without shouting that they’re both in it to win it…

now playing: The Story of Us by Taylor Swift

now we get to hear the Coca-Cola song… i’m Positive it will debut high and everyone will have forgotten about it within a month… his mic went out… i think… okay, so i like the concept of a drum corp, but not if they don’t actually play the drums… anyway, that was a mediocre copy of a Black Eyed Peas performance…

Scotty… if Scotty wins, his single will be called I Love You This Big… maybe it will be better because Jimmy picked it… they’re playing his AI history behind him as he bellows out this ballad… and it actually does fit his style… i don’t know how well this would sell, but i suspect it would do alright… Randy (in a pimp suit, by the way) says wow man… it was a great range because he sang low and high… and he’s in it to win it… J-Lo says it really was (a brilliant vocal)… that he’s a good storyteller and he did a really great job with that song… Steven says he’s come a long way… Ryan gives Scotty an extra mic because he’s “too chill”…

Lauren… if she wins, her single is called Like My Mother Does… which apparently captures her entire Idol journey and will move moms like crazy… apparently, her target audience is soccer moms… oh, she’s a little flat on the chorus… but again, it doesn’t matter… this song is all about how great mothers are… Lauren may be crying… Ryan comes over to help her down the steps into the audience so she can hug and serenade her mom without pulling a Haley… it’s a fine song, i suppose… she’s reduced to tears on stage… Randy says wow, amazing job Jimmy, and great job mom for being her supporting Lauren… and oh, yeah, Lauren has arrived, it was amazing… J-Lo says she may have just won with that song… it was everything it needed to be and she sang it just the way she needed to… Steven reminds everyone that he picked her to win it when he first saw her and he thinks America will agree…

now playing: The Gambler by Kenny Rogers

so all three judges are calling this a victory for Lauren, whether they want to say it specifically or not… and it’s been a long time since a girl won… and as David Cook grumbles out Don’t You Forget About Me, i’ll go ahead and call it the opposite way… Scotty is your American Idol… anybody dare defy me?

peace… love… bdg…

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three contenders left and they all went home last week to goof off and act like the rockstars they hope to be… and in the shadows, the “real” rockstar… the one who “brought things to Idol that no one else ever did or could have” James, the whirling Durbin also went home to sulk in his pillow and help raise his child… this is a two-hour doosie of an episode, so let’s dive right in… off we go…

now playing: All Around Me by Flyleaf

so three songs each tonight… and the contestants get to pick the first one… not only that, they get to be in the same room with Beyonce!… and she’ll be able to advise them and help them… coincidentally, she’s debuting a new video, too…

Scotty… chose Amazed by Lonestar and Beyonce appears to be crushing on him… he’s going to hit some high notes, so adjust your sets as needed… he starts off leaning on the piano and bellowing out his buttery tenor, but he starts walking around to work up the courage to get into the chorus… and the bigger notes… and he’s just not that good on the higher notes… overall though, it works pretty out pretty well… pretty laid back… Steven says he got angry and kicked that song into the next week… J-Lo takes credit for his vibrato and how much he’s grown since the beginning… Randy drops his credentials and then tells Scotty that he was a little pitchy, but he’s got money in there…

Lauren… will be singing Wild One by Faith Hill and Beyonce encourages her to find her stage alter ego a la “Sashia Fierce”… she says this song reminds her of her mom… and it’s not a bad song… the tempo works to her advantage, despite losing her breath at the end of a lot of the phrases… and not much room to rev up the vocals, but it shows her personality and style and panache… it was a good performance… J-Lo says she attacked it well to create a moment… Randy compliments Beyonce’s guidance and that when Lauren lets go, she’s at her best… Steven says she’s having fun and she sang it like she owned it…

Haley… is singing ZEPPELIN! on IDOL… take THAT James Durbin!… Beyonce doesn’t need to help her with confidence or ferocity… maybe her dad will play guitar for this one… looks like that’s the case unless she thinks that old guy is handsome for other reasons… i’m not sure i like the arrangement that much… yeah, it’s pretty straightforward, but it would’ve been nice to adjust it a little more to work with her vocal better… and she’s racing around the judges table and WOAH!… SAFE!… she totally took a header on the steps there… she recovers well and completes the performance… Randy says she’s slammin’ and fearless and it was one of her best performances EVER… crazy crazy IN IT TO WIN IT… Steven says she must’ve fallen for him… J-Lo says everyone falls on stage and she kept going which proves she’s a professional… good good round…

now playing: God Is Enough by Lecrae

it seems that with the absence of James, the judges just don’t know what to say to the others… they’ve all selected Haley as the round one winner, but it’s certainly with some reluctance since they spent the last eight weeks trying to get her booted off… anyway, we’re heading into round two with songs selected by Jimmy Iovine… right after a trailer for the new Jurassic Park TV show… and some dude in a dog costume?!

Scotty… “baby lock them doors and turn them lights down low”… Jimmy picked Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not and Scotty seems happy with the selection… i have no idea what this song is, but apparently it’s a country tune and Scotty gets to play some guitar along with it which keeps him in place… it’s a pretty good song i suppose definitely works for him and he had fun and sang it well… Steven says nothing about a duck… but he was living that one and showed his character… J-Lo comments about all the moments that she loved because he was in the zone… then she requests that he shave his hair for the finale… Randy compliments Jimmy’s selection and then tells Scotty he’s approaching that Garth level… they’ve really embraced this “in it to win it” catch phrase… i suppose you have to be able to laugh at yourself…

Lauren… not to be outdone by Haley’s tumble, Lauren apparently ripped her stockings, so we get to see someone shimmering up her legs with makeup… of course, she’s embarrassed… Jimmy picks If I Die Young by The Band Perry… all i have to say is the judges better pick an Aerosmith song for her… i don’t know this song either… but i’m vaguely familiar with the artist… and she’s performing it well, struggling with the emotion of it, but fighting through well… it’s a touching performance and a tender side to balance out the lively “Wild Girl” from round one… J-Lo says she has the best tone of anyone in the competition and talks about the honesty and emotion of the song… Randy laughingly says that it was good that she kept going and then strokes Jimmy Iovine’s ego… Steven said it was a beautiful song and she’s got a beautiful voice and she did it again…

Haley… apparently got into this season’s competition by bouncing back from last season’s rejection… funny, ’cause she’s stayed in this competition bouncing back from scathing criticism from the judges each week… Jimmy picks Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac and the vocal should fit nicely if Haley remembers the lyrics (her thought, not mine)… she’s taken by the wind as she sings thanks to a wind machine that keeps her hair and dress afloat… and her vocal is pretty nice, but she’s also slithering around like a cage dancer as she performs, so that may not go over well… Randy says she cracks him up but she did a good job with it despite it being a somber moment… then Randy and Steven talk about long hair and wind machines… Steven says it reminded him why he fell in love with Stevie Nicks… J-Lo says she expected a Haley wail at the end, but it was a nice contrast to round one’s performance…

now playing: God Is Enough by Lecrae

Steven gives round two to Lauren… J-Lo goes with Scotty, Scotty, Scotty… and Randy echoes that in triplicate… Jimmy refuses to pick a favorite… and we cut to Beyonce’s Run the World, Girls video preview… great…

Scotty… shockingly, they’re running short on time, so we only get a brief glimpse of Scotty climbing up on the check out counter to announce that the judges selected Kenny Rogers’ She Believes in Me before he launches right into the performance… he’s seated and singing the verse deeper than Kenny ever did… his chorus is a little harsher than Kenny’s but it still works… Steven says it’s the first big chorus that he hit and it put him over the top… J-Lo wanted to see if he could hit the chorus and he showed them… Randy says it was very nicely done… Ryan gets Scotty’s dad to sing Scotty’s trademark line…

Lauren… still lots of commercials and then we cut to Lauren strategically placed in front of an AT&T store to reveal that she’s singing I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack… she thinks she’s gonna kill it… she’s singing on a cloud of fog machine fog… and she’s piercing the audience with a solid tone and pitch… she IS killing it… but she has a little less personality showing through on that performance… J-Lo shows her “goosies” and then spends too much time talking about it… she calls the round for Lauren… Randy says she slayed it and she’s in it to win it… Steven says she walked out like she owned the Grand Ole Opry…

Haley… so Fox declares judgement day this fall, but we all know it’s this Saturday, right? anyway, Haley is cruising in her [FORD] ride as she learns she’s singing Alanis Morrisette’s You Ought to Know… the proverbial nail in the coffin… no wonder J-Lo called Lauren the winner of the round already… this is clearly the judges last dig at Haley, who still dares to walk over to the judge’s table confronting the stairs again (this time successfully)… she did fine, but it was an awful song choice and came across as a death knell… Randy declares her in it to in it… Steven says she nailed the choruses… J-Lo says no one can match her growl…

now playing: For What It’s Worth by Sidewalk Prophets

so, if you don’t like country music, don’t expect to like the Idol finale next week… Steven calls round three for Haley, but the other two are in the tank for Lauren… and we all know that Scotty is completely safe… so it really comes down to Lauren vs. Haley and based on sheer universal acceptance, it’s gotta go to Lauren… so kids, expect a country show down between the two young guns next week after Haley heads home for good…

i’ll go ahead and take this time to embarrass myself a little bit here, too… looking back at my initial season predictions… i blew it!… i had Lauren at 11, Haley at 9, and Scotty out at 4, staring at James, Pia, and Casey competing in the top 3… oops!… anyway, how did your initial picks work out and what did you think of tonight?

peace… love… bdg…

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